FedEx 400 Results: Smoke Rises At Dover

Tony Stewart won the FedEx 400 at Dover International Raceway on Sunday passing Juan Pablo Montoya in the closing laps to take the checkered flag. The win was the 48th of his career and his first win of the 2013 season.

Stewart passed Montoya on the outside with about eight laps to go putting an end to any chance the open wheel driver had of getting his first oval win in the NASCAR circuit. Jeff Gordon finished third notching his fourth top ten of the year. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five.

Tony Stewart celebrated atop his car in victory lane while his crew gave him a well-deserved beer shower after the 400-mile event. An emotional Tony Stewart spoke of the progress and determination of his team this year to reporters saying:

“It’s definitely momentum. We got two weeks of momentum under our belt now at two totally different race tracks. That is big. Momentum is huge in this sport. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We won’t sit… I guarantee you none of these guys behind you will tell you we are exactly where we want to be right now. It’s a good reward for how hard they have been working to get that first win of the year.”

Stewart’s win on Sunday didn’t only boost his team’s morale, but also moves him up four spots in points making him eligible for a wild-card spot. A wild-card berth is rewarded to a driver not currently in the top ten, but has remained in the top twenty in points and won races. Only two wild-card positions are rewarded each season to the first two drivers who won the most races.

On the final restart it seemed as if Jimmie Johnson would score his eighth win at Dover until he was penalized by NASCAR for jumping ahead of leader Juan Pablo Montoya. Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, argued with NASCAR officials for three laps before he was black flagged and forced to come down pit road to serve a drive through penalty causing him to finish 17th.

When asked about being black flagged Johnson responded stating:

“I ran half-throttle for the first half a lap, waiting for him (Montoya), and then at some point you’ve got to go, and you’ve got to race, and that’s when I got back in the gas and took off. I was hoping they would see that I was trying to give him the spot back.”

Despite the penalty, Johnson remains atop the point standings; 30 points ahead of second place Carl Edwards who finished 14th on Sunday. Matt Kenseth fell to fourth in the standing after blowing an engine in the late stages of the race. Teammate and pole-sitter Denny Hamlin finished 34th after blowing a tire putting into serious doubt that he will be able to recover and make the postseason this year.

Brad Keselowski’s top-five finish was erased when Keselowski’s car failed post-race inspection for his car being too low to the ground. If Keselowski is penalized for the infraction he will most likely be pushed outside the top-12 in points heading into next week’s event at Pocono Raceway.

Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano finished 7th and moved himself up to 18th in points. Although Penske has shown much resilience after being penalized earlier in the season it is very unlikely that either Keselowski or Logano will make the chase this year.

Ryan Newman finished 36th after bumping David Gilliland causing him to get loose and hit the wall before sliding back down the track and sending both Newman and Gilliland into the inside wall. Once both cars came to a stop, Gilliland got out of his car and confronted Newman about the wreck. Both drivers acted calmly as they discussed the accident with each other and NASCAR safety officials at the scene.

Clint Bowyer moved up to third in the standings after finishing 6th. His teammate, Martin Truex Jr., finished 38th and dropped back to 14th in the standings. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished tenth and stayed sixth in the standings. His teammate, Jeff Gordon, finished third and moved up four spots to 11th place in the standings. Gordon is also currently in the first wild-card spot and would make the chase if the regular season ended today. Kasey Kahne finished 21st moving him back to seventh in points.

The Sprint Cup series heads to Pocono Raceway next Sunday for the fourteenth race of the season. Last year’s winner, Joey Logano, will be looking for a win at The Tricky Triangle to launch him into the wild-card conversation. Jimmie Johnson will also be in the spotlight at Pocono after failing to finish in the top ten for two straight weeks.

Who do you think will win at Pocono? Can Montoya get his first oval win this season? Will Johnson finish inside the top ten this week? Let me know in the comments below.